Games That Built My Game Dev Dreams

Author: Joe Little

Date: 01/28/24

Video games have always been a significant part of my life. I remember receiving a classic Game Boy for my 7th birthday, along with Tetris and Zelda: Link's Awakening. Tetris, with its addictive dance of falling blocks, and Zelda, an epic adventure enclosed in tiny green and black pixels, quickly became constant companions of my childhood. My tiny gray sidekick went everywhere with me. Whether riding in the car's backseat or building forts in the woods, I could always slip back into Koholint Island, enjoying the challenge of solving puzzles and crawling through dungeons.

The first game I ever bought with my own money was the Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt combo NES game. I spent my own money on the game, which encouraged my parents to buy the orange duck hunt gun! We spent hours tucked inside, out of the rain (we lived in the Northwest), shooting ducks and whomping Goombas. This led to eventually purchasing the other Mario games, and contrary to popular opinion, I also really loved Super Mario 2! I loved all of the unique enemy characters, and the fact that Princess Peach could float for a long distance. Super Mario Bros. 3 blew me away! It was a tremendous expansion on the series, adding warp whistles, quirky and lovable enemies, and power-ups that could turn you into a frog, tanuki, or a hammer-wielding powerhouse!

Another NES game at the top of my list is Bucky O'Hare. With his laser gun and trusty crew, Bucky O'Hare may not have reached the same heights as Mega Man, Mario, or Link, but he's one of my all-time favorites. The gameplay and soundtrack are still playing in my mind when I think back to my childhood.

Then came Battletoads, I loved the challenging gameplay and the satisfaction of perfectly timed punch, headbutt, or boot!

On my 9th birthday, I received a trove of computer game discs from my uncle, including a demo disk for Doom. Doom was like a forbidden fruit. I played it in secret, knowing my parents wouldn't approve! Eventually, I worked up the courage to ask for the full game, which, to my surprise, my parents hesitantly permitted. Doom ignited my passion for the PC. But later, it was StarCraft and Warcraft that truly sustained my PC gaming interest, revealing galaxies of strategic depth.

In my teenage years, I got a Nintendo 64 and fell in love with 3D games. Ocarina of Time painted Hyrule in breathtaking 3D. Link galloped on Epona, Navi said "Hey, listen!" a lot... every quest felt epic, and I didn't want the game to end. Then there was Goldeneye, which wasn't just a shooter; it was the first time I stayed up all night gaming with friends and eating pizza!

Eventually, in high school, the Xbox came out, and Halo, oh Halo - a sprawling alien ringworld was a reason to host a living room LAN party where we battled for supremacy in Blood Gulch.

Each game has imprinted on my imagination, scribbled in pixels, polygons, and chiptunes. From Mario's side-scrolling adventure to Zelda's sweeping epics, from Battletoads' riotous brawls to Halo's sci-fi grandeur, they taught me about worlds, characters, challenges, and the sheer, unadulterated joy of a well-crafted game.

Now, as an indie developer, I stand bathed in the afterglow of that pixelated Pantheon. Every line of code, every level design, every enemy sprite whispers in the echoes of Super Mario's warp pipes, StarCraft's strategic dances, and Ocarina of Time's epic melodies. My goal isn't to copy these giants; it's to capture their spark, the spirit of innovation, the thrill of discovery, and the gut-punching joy that makes a game unforgettable.

So, here's to the Super Marios, the Battletoads, the StarCrafts, and all the games that lit the fire in my soul. You're not just pixels on a screen; you're the blueprint for the worlds I strive to create, the inspiration that fuels my every keystroke. And who knows, maybe one day, a kid playing my game will look back and say, "That's where it all started, the game that sparked my own dream of building pixelated playgrounds."